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The SEC Charges and Then Trolls Crypto Exchange Binance

Who needs an entire article about the SEC filing 13 charges against crypto exchange Binance and its founder Changpeng Zhao when the SEC is cranking out tweets like this? Today we charged Binance Holdings Ltd. (Binance); U.S.-based affiliate, BAM Trading Services Inc., which, together with Binance, operates https://t.co/swcxioZKVP; and their founder, Changpeng Zhao, with a […]

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Monday Morning Accounting News Brief: PwC Names Names in Tax Scandal; ‘Your Own Everest’ | 6.5.23

Hello and welcome back to another fabulous week. Here’s what’s going on. PwC Australia has named all 67 people involved in the confidential tax leak in an unpublished letter to lawmakers ahead of parliamentary hearings later this week. Jan Bouwens, Professor of Accounting, Amsterdam Business School, Amsterdam, Netherlands writes a letter to Financial Times suggesting […]

EY flags

Promotion Watch ’23: EY Promotes 966 to Partner, Missing Last Year’s Record of 1033

Undeterred by the embarrassment of Everest’s implosion, EY proudly announced today that 966 people have been promoted to partner across the globe. That’s down from the record 1,033 promoted to partner in 2022. The obligatory press release makes sure to mention that these promotions reflect continued growth and strong business performance by the organization. In […]

Broken lightbulb isolated on white

Kill the Audit Industry, Says Ex-Auditor

In the WaPo opinion pages yesterday one Duncan Mavin, who got his start in the 90s, says the best way to solve the audit industry’s many conflicts is to kill it altogether. He starts the piece summoning the ghost of Enron, as all writers do when discussing what happens when audit goes wrong. Bringing things […]

PwC Australia is Very Very Sorry, You Guys

Presumably because the many apologies and decisions made before this letter have not sufficiently gotten the heat off their backs (and boy is it hot), PwC Australia published an open letter apology on their website Monday. The entire text, including the formatting, appears in below. At issue, if you make your residence under a rock, […]

illustration signifying layoffs

Grant Thornton Layoff Numbers Are In (UPDATE)

Ed. note: We’ve received some additional information about layoffs, see update at the bottom. The other day Grant Thornton sent out a firmwide email packed with words like “difficult but necessary decisions,” “values and culture,” and “continued investment in growth” to inform everyone that heads were soon to roll. While pointing out that “unlike peers,” […]

sketch of a robot among business people to signify AI replacing workers

PwC Chief Products & Technology Officer Says Not to Worry, They Don’t Want to Replace You With AI

A couple days ago, NYT published a piece asking an important question: Who will protect the workers losing their jobs to AI? The article references a May 16 senate subcommittee hearing chaired by Senator Richard Blumenthal at which OpenAI’s Sam Altman is told Mr. Blumenthal’s greatest nightmare is AI causing massive job loss. “There will […]

FUBAR keyboard key

Deloitte Risk Advisory Associate Director Who Praised Hitler on LinkedIn No Longer Works at Deloitte

Ed. note: this article’s headline has been changed as we don’t actually know if he got fired or not. Neerabh Mehrotra, formerly Associate Director at Deloitte India, has been let go after he gushed over Adolf Hitler’s charisma, intelligence, and confidence on LinkedIn. The post: Text transcription, courtesy Google Lens: 😊Friday Inspiration😍 Recently I picked […]

man holding a phone speaking to a chatbot

ChatGPT Can Pass the CPA Exam But Here’s What It Can’t Do (Yet)

If the headlines are to be believed, humanity is mere months away from being enslaved by artificial intelligence or, at the very least, being permanently unemployed (cue sounds of the Going Concern audience celebrating here). You may have seen clickbait articles about entire marketing departments being turfed in favor of ChatGPT (we never liked the […]

screenshot of a ChatGPT response that looks like a scam email

AI Poised to Put Fake IRS Agents Out of a Job

Of all the occupations most at risk of being replaced by synths AI in the near future — bookkeepers, programmers, and washed-up accounting blog writers, to name a few — no one really talks about how ChatGPT, Bard, and Microsoft’s Bing AI (if you’re counting that one) will impact scammers. You know, those people who […]

screenshot from the ABC730 PwC apology video

PwC Issues a Groveling Apology Video (Not Really)

Satirist Mark Humphries has given us the closest thing we’ll get to an apology from PwC for their part in shattering the public trust and slandering the good name of professional services. A message from PwCpic.twitter.com/3DoR61BheQ — Mark Humphries (@markhumphries) May 18, 2023 The skit ran on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s evening news and said […]

I Love Accounting. So I Had to Leave.

At its core, accounting is a challenging career that requires growth and learning and can usually pay pretty well. There’s lots to do, and it requires developing expertise and finding ways to solve puzzles. Organizations need folks who can understand broad frameworks and rules and interpret that to produce all sorts of things they need. […]

Accounting Summer Camp is a Thing in New York

High school students in the state of New York have the chance to participate in the Career Opportunities in the Accounting Profession program this summer, the deadline to apply is Friday, June 23, 2023 at 11:59pm which you can do at this link. Let’s skip the unnecessary commentary and get straight to the details. From […]

someone looking at their watch

Deferred Start Dates Are a Good Thing?

Staci Zaretsky wrote about deferred Biglaw start dates on Above the Law today and while law ≠ accounting, the sausage factory of the Professional Services Industrial Complex™ is pretty much the same thing. Let me add, we’re beginning to see delayed start dates in our little corner of the billable hour universe so this might […]

Big 4 Recruiting is Gonna Hate This

A highlight: “Generally, you shouldn’t have a year end one after the other,” says Tara. “But the company went under a hiring freeze and I wound up with five or six clients’ year ends back to back. I was working excessively long hours and work life balance just went out of the window. I’d get […]

Armanino Adds Marketing to the List of Services on Offer

Article image is a still from Armanino’s 2019 recruiting video ‘The Perfect Taco’. Armanino is getting into the marketing business. In recent years, there’s been a push for CPA firms to serve as one-stop shops for more than just tax expertise and audits. And why not? Deloitte Digital has been doing it (and exceptionally well […]

The PCAOB Finally Releases China Inspection Results for KPMG and PwC, It Ain’t Good

For those of you short on time and/or attention span, here’s Public Company Accounting Oversight Board Erica Y. Williams on Bloomberg today discussing the long-awaited inspection results for two firms inspected in 2022: KPMG Huazhen LLP in mainland China [PDF] and PricewaterhouseCoopers in Hong Kong [PDF]. PCAOB inspectors found Part I.A deficiencies in 100% (4/4) of […]

PwC Is Getting Rekt in the News

ICYMI, PwC Australia’s (former) CEO Tom Seymour stepped down on Monday which normally would inspire a hearty “who cares” from our primarily US-based audience but the issue surrounding his departure is prompting an attack on the entire professional services industry. Well, for now the attack is mostly laser-focused on PwC but the firm’s well-publicized tax […]

sad looking dog on a grey chair

Friday Footnotes: RSM Layoffs; The Leader Who Cried On His First Day; Advisory Pays Better (Duh) | 5.5.23

Footnotes is a collection of stories from around the accounting profession curated by actual humans and published every Friday at 5pm Eastern. While you’re here, subscribe to our newsletter to get the week’s top stories in your inbox every Tuesday and Friday. See ya. Talent Survey: Accounting Graduates Favor Advisory Work, Earn More Than Peers […]

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We’re Hearing PwC CRTs Will Be Rough This Year

The rumor mill has been worked into a lather about a reduction in force at Marcum (someone in the comments says that’s BS though we did get confirmation of some kind of private equity deal coming down the pipe), lots of performance discussions at Deloitte after promotions were unexpectedly delayed for many, and possible silent […]

PwC Chad

The Rumor Is True, PwC Is Returning to the Office

Today was the much-anticipated firmwide webcast in which we expected PwC leadership to announce a return to office. Lo-and-behold…it happened. A source tells us: 50 percent “people together,” virtual channel staff three times per month, firmwide events requirement two times per quarter. So return to work 50 percent starting July. r/PwC is discussing it and […]

Carmine Will Not Let That Split Thing Go

Only days ago, WSJ ran the headline “EY Breakup Plan Is Really Dead” and included a quote from EY Americas Vice Chair of Tax Kevin Flynn, lifted from a recording of a staff call: “My message to everyone about Everest is, it’s behind us. Let’s not spend time in the rearview mirror.” And days before […]

kangaroo crossing the road

Talent-Strapped Down Under Deloitte and EY Are Importing Staff

We all know outsourcing is big these days — accounting firms might be sending a third of their work overseas and some seniors are overseeing an entire team of offshore associates — but what about insourcing? Oh wait, that means something different. We’re talking about talent-strapped Big 4 firms bringing the offshore talent to them. […]

shy woman pulling a black sweater over her face

Big 4 Firms Are Noticing a Sudden Skills Gap in New Hires

It’s funny, I was just talking about this yesterday to a state society leader, how there’s been talk in recent weeks that outsourcing and automation have reduced the “skills gauntlet” interns and new hires go through to learn the tedious details which in turn is making a crop of staff and associates who feel almost […]

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Monday Morning Accounting News Brief: Law Firms Celebrate EY’s Failure; PwC ‘Nature Specialists’; UK Tax Scandal | 5.1.23

The EY split is really dead. Were there any doubts? A WSJ exclusive: Leaders of EY’s dominant U.S. and U.K. operations are focused on repairing the damage from the 18-month effort to split the firm’s auditing and consulting operations, known as Project Everest. “My message to everyone about Everest is, it’s behind us,” Kevin Flynn, […]

happy dog in sunglasses

Friday Footnotes: PwC Is Tops in M&A Advisory; What You Can Do With a MAcc; EY Consolidates in LatAm | 4.28.23

Footnotes is a collection of stories from around the accounting profession curated by actual humans and published every Friday at 5pm Eastern. While you’re here, subscribe to our newsletter to get the week’s top stories in your inbox every Tuesday and Friday. See ya. News The leak that puts a multibillion-dollar industry at risk [Sydney […]

The King’s KPMG Gets Fined for Rookie Mistakes

Another day, another Financial Reporting Council fine for KPMG. This time it is related to their audit of TheWorks.co.uk, a discount retailer specializing in arts, crafts, toys, books, stationery, and perpetual fire sales of various cheap stuff with which to clutter your domicile and desk drawers. On Wednesday, the FRC announced sanctions against KPMG and […]

Intuit is Using Fear and Uncertainty to Snatch Up Talent

620 tech companies have laid off 184,616 employees so far in 2023 per Layoffs.fyi, up from 164,511 employees in 2022 and we’re not even halfway through the year. The good news is tech layoffs are trending down for now after a peak in January, hopefully we don’t repeat last year’s pattern. It goes without saying […]

AI generated image of a yellow forest

PwC Has Set Aside $1,000,000,000 for AI

We’ve used that PwC Chad image way too many times recently so have this AI-generated fantasy forest instead. It wasn’t that long ago that Big 4 accounting firms were cagey about staff playing around with ChatGPT on company equipment, consumed by the fear of sensitive client information being fed into the AI black hole. But […]

Deloitte "if you just follow, you'll never lead" sheep billboard

Deloitte Suddenly Placed a Bunch of Crypto Job Ads?

Blockworks has written about activity on LinkedIn and Google Jobs suggesting “that Deloitte is on the prowl for crypto natives to join its ranks.” A LinkedIn search shows 331 crypto-y roles at Deloitte, almost all of them posted last week. Blockworks’ job hunter says the other Big 4 — you know who they are — […]

What TF Is Going on With Deloitte Promotions?

It’s promotion time at Deloitte and what is usually a time of celebration has devolved into disappointment and confusion for many. We’ve been tipped to unexpected promotion results and pointed to a thread on r/Deloitte that breaks it down: I just met with my coach and although I was rated as strong in all categories, […]

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Monday Morning Accounting News Brief: Deloitte Refutes a Demand Shift; Firm Data Breach; KPMG’s New AI Partner | 4.24.23

Good morning and welcome to another Monday. Here are a few stories to whet your appetite for what promises to be a thrilling week in accounting ahead (obligatory /s). Study Finds Negative Impact on Audit Partners who Give Adverse Internal Control Opinions: As regulators review audit independence requirements to figure out whether the rules should […]

vulture in a tree

It’s Gonna Be a Talent Bloodbath at EY

Earlier this week WSJ’s CFO Journal posted a piece entitled “Ernst & Young, After Its Failed Split, Could Find Itself Vulnerable to Staff Poaching.” They might as well have made the headline “Hey Big 4 Firms, There’s a Carcass Full of Meat Here For You to Pick Pieces Off Of” because the premise of the […]

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Rumor Has It Something’s Going Down at Marcum (UPDATE)

In November Financial Times wrote a quick little story about accounting firms eyeing private equity deals, a topic that first gained visibility when TowerBrook Capital Partners purchased an ownership stake in EisnerAmper way back in 2021. The FT story listed BDO, Grant Thornton, and Marcum as firms that have explored these deals, though none of […]

The paltry change you are currently billing clients for

You Are Not Charging Enough

Psst. Hey, you. Yeah, you. We are speaking on behalf of the universe with a message for you: You are not charging enough. Honestly, we could just end the article here but there are minimum word counts to hit so in a moment we’re going to give you a few reasons why you need to […]

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Guess We Should Discuss Deloitte’s RTO Plans

Yesterday the PwC return to office plan set to be announced May 3 and take effect after the firmwide summer break was all but confirmed and in a discussion about it I came across this: Therese are nothing when compared to Deloitte’s planned RTO announcement which has a tentative announcement date of the Tuesday after […]

Empathetic Leadership Is So 2022

Post image via Here’s the Deck EY Put Together to Sell the Audit/Consulting Split to Staff It was only days ago that EY released its Empathy in Business Survey results for 2023 and if you remember, the last time they promoted empathy in business it did not go well. Recap on that from last year: […]

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Monday Morning Accounting News Brief: Intern Retention; Accenture Delays Start Dates; Post-Everest EY Exodus? | 4.17.23

Good morning and happy Monday! Here’s some news. The PCAOB wants to dismiss a lawsuit brought by an anonymous auditor who challenged the board‘s “secret” disciplinary proceedings: Among other reasons, the board noted that John Doe‘s Jan. 19, 2023, suit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas. But the […]

The EY Split Is Officially DEAD

Called it! Financial Times reported moments ago: EY has called off the plan to break up its audit and consulting businesses after months of internal disagreement. The decision is set to be communicated to partners in a note on Tuesday, said people with knowledge of the matter. More to come shortly.

cat on a dumpster

Just Be Glad You Didn’t Have FTX As a Client

Not long after the November collapse of crypto exchange FTX one of the first questions asked was, naturally, “where were the auditors?” (Francine McKenna answers that question here on CoinDesk) In the weeks that followed the FTX implosion, firms that once bragged about their crypto practices quietly shuttered them and walked away and the once […]

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What Would the Accreditors Say About AICPA’s ELE Program?

By Sharon Lassar, PhD, CPA (Florida) John J. Gilbert Professor and Director of the School of Accountancy, University of Denver Last week I raised the question of whether it is ethical to promote an educational path to CPA licensure that is (highly) susceptible to cheating. The AICPA’s pipeline acceleration plan proposes an Experience, Learn & […]

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Monday Morning Accounting News Brief: Small Firms Beg For Big 4 Knowledge; FreshBooks Leak; Tech in Lieu of Accountants | 4.10.23

It’s Monday. Yay. Here’s what’s going on. Smaller accounting firms have asked Big 4 to share their expertise [FT]: Smaller rivals have called on the UK’s Big Four accounting firms to share their audit expertise and technology, but partners at the big firms say they fear being accused of breaking competition law if they do […]

The fines will continue until audit quality improves

Head Regulator Said He’ll Break Out the World’s Smallest Violin For Auditors Crying About Tougher Regulation

Financial Times has reported that Financial Reporting Council head Sir Jon Thompson — who last year told firms complaining about audit fines to get gud (paraphrased) — has no sympathy for audit partners across the pond who can afford Ferraris but can’t afford the staff and training necessary to perform acceptable audit work. Auditors who think […]

moon landing

Deloitte Sets Its Sights on the Final Frontier

A few weeks back we wrote up EY Australia’s Space Hub and its impressive new ex-NASA hire. This week, we’ve learned that Deloitte has its own big plans for space. In an April 4 press release, Deloitte announced a formal space practice “to connect organizations in rapidly growing global space ecosystem.” That’s obviously a direct […]

business people shaking hands

Baker Tilly Will Be Making Moves

A couple months ago I guessed that Baker Tilly was working on a big merger — to which a merger expert I pester from time to time asked incredulously “with who?” (paraphrased) — and then suddenly CEO Alan Whitman up and left making me think maybe I was wrong. Whitman’s sudden departure was a little […]

woman getting bullied

What in the Bullying Hell is Happening at KPMG Australia?

Last August, Australian Financial Review reported that eleven people had been “exited” (tossed, kicked out, told to F off, however you prefer to phrase it) from KPMG Australia for misconduct including bullying, sexual harassment and policy breaches in the past year; during the same period, internal misconduct complaints doubled to 88. This may have been due […]